


Look Beyond The Broken Bottles, Past The Rotting Wooden Stairs

by haunted_by_catholic_guilt



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Angst, Fever, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Nightmares, Parental Buddy Aurinko, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sick Character, Sickfic, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:40:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28093287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haunted_by_catholic_guilt/pseuds/haunted_by_catholic_guilt
Summary: “Juno? Dear? Are you alright?It was a low, maternal voice coming from outside his door.He thought everyone left already.“Juno I’m coming in.”
Relationships: Buddy Aurinko & Juno Steel
Comments: 3
Kudos: 91





	Look Beyond The Broken Bottles, Past The Rotting Wooden Stairs

**Author's Note:**

> TW  
> LUNG PROBLEMS, COUGHING, NIGHTMARES
> 
> TW FOR THE FOLLOWING IMPLIED  
> CHILD ABUSE, DOMESTIC ABUSE

Juno felt like he was buried under a layer of concrete and it was seeping into his lungs.

He had caught something on the last planet he was on, Vespa had said it was preventable by vaccine, to which Rita piped up next to him, which he was thankful for since he was unable to talk, that Sarah never really cared enough to vaccinate her kids.

He had spent the last two days in the infirmary, Vespa trying to find if there was any medication to help him, with Rita very rarely leaving his side.

But he moved back into his bed, or Jet carried him since he was too sick to stand but he wouldn’t admit that after Vespa determined there was nothing she could do.

They were stopped at a planet now, he didn’t know which one, but everyone else had decided to step off the ship, Rita said something about snacks before running off along with the rest of the crew.

He coughed, his chest heaving and he couldn’t catch his damn breath.

Maybe all those years of smoking were a bad idea.

His lungs were burning and he was distantly reminded of times in the past, with exes, with Sarah.

He’d always had bad lungs, but they were worse when he was young, probably cause of the constant fighting.

He closed his eyes and he was four, Sarah, through him into the counter when he was coughing, annoyed by the sound.

He was 8 and he sat in a steaming bathroom at Mick’s house, he heard his dad talking on the phone and Mick and Sasha were sitting with him, he couldn’t breathe.

He was 25 and with Diamond, his lungs were better but still pretty awful, it was the weekend he was pretty sure, saying Diamond was home but when he asked she said it was a Wednesday, that he made her stay home.

He cried that day when she wouldn’t talk to him in anything but short angry sentences.

He was 32, he’d left Diamond by then, he was in his office and could not recall when or how he got to work, and Rita was next to him, she was holding a drink of something to his lips, telling him it would help, then they went to her car and she brought him to hers, refusing to leave him alone.

He was thankful for that, saying she needed to drive him to the hospital that night because of pneumonia.

He was in his bed on the Carte Blanche and for the first time he wished he had someone next to him, he’ll even Diamond or his mom.

It made him feel sick that he missed them.

He needed to get to the shower.

He didn’t think he could move.

He felt a hot tear drip down his face, and he couldn’t bring himself to stop crying after it started.

The sobbing only racked his lungs more, and he couldn’t stop the wet and hacking coughs from escaping.

“Juno? Dear? Are you alright?

It was a low, maternal voice coming from outside his door.

He thought everyone left already.

“Juno I’m coming in.”

She did, the door opened to reveal Buddy holding a mug of tea, in a relaxed outfit with her hair pulled back into a low bun.

He was still coughing and she quickly made her way over the bed, setting the mug on the side table, and propped Juno up, which he was very thankful for.

She rubbed his back while he coughed, still crying, and propped him up against the wall when it abated before sitting next to him on the bed.

“You’re burning up, dear.”

She mumbled, brushing her hand through his hair, and he let himself lean into it before he realized.

He nodded, and she set her hand on his knee, her expression was warm and comforting.

He let himself feel comforted for a moment.

“I’m going to go and set up a hot shower, you don’t need to take it right now but the steam could help with your lungs, wait here.”

He nodded, convinced she read his mind, and she stood up to go start the shower.

After a few minutes, or less he wasn’t sure, she was back and she carefully helped the lady out of his bed, slowly walking into the bathroom and sitting him on the ground.

He expected her to leave, but instead, she closed the door and sat on the floor next to him, gently pulling him into her.

“Its alright, Juno, you can rest.”

He tried to fight it, he knew comfort was temporary, never lasting, but it felt so safe that he let himself, resting his head on her lap as she ran her hand through it.

He let himself rest as the steam filled his lungs.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buddy didn’t want to be a mother, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t maternal.

When her Vespa had told her that the ex-detective was ill, she was filled with an emotion she very rarely felt.

She made her way into the infirmary with her wife to check on him on occasion, but he was often asleep, and if not Rita or Peter were by his side.

But, now everyone except her and Jet was off the Carte Blanche at the market, and she just didn’t feel comfortable leaving the lady alone the whole time.

And she’s right to have come in when she did, she thought.

Seeing Juno so… vulnerable scared her in a way, he was usually so defensive, always picking fights as if he was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

But there he was, crying and ill alone in his room, unable to even catch his breath.

She remembered about steam helping, so she brought him into a steaming room, and that’s where she sat now, with the lady laying his head in her lap.

When she was looking into the Private Eye, she found many articles about Sarah Steel, about his brother and how he was killed, and she knew that couldn’t have meant good things for his childhood but wasn’t exactly sure of the details.

She still wasn’t, sure she had seen the aftermath of some of his nightmares and the way he acted when Vespa raised her voice or got angry, how he was reckless on missions resulting in frequent injuries.

That wasn’t even counting things that weren’t related to Sarah, but she assumed there were many, judging by the number of scars.

After some time in the steaming bathroom, she brought him back into his room, got him settled on his bed with a cold cloth on his head, and sat next to him on a chair.

It was half an hour before he started having nightmares again, violent thrashing, and sobbing, which triggered coughing fits but he couldn’t seem to wake up.

Buddy held Juno in his arms as he shook with violent coughing and sobs.

The lady didn’t seem to register what was going on, and he clung to her, trust in a way she had never seen him show, even to Rita.

“Hush, you’re okay.”

She rocked him gently as he sobbed, mentioning names she didn’t recognize and some she did.

He begged for forgiveness, and she tried to calm his tears, but to no avail.

“Alright Juno, it’s alright, just breathe.”

He curled into her, and she still wasn’t quite sure what to do.

She had never seen anyone quite this ill, at least it had been a long time.

Of course, her Vespa had gotten sick, and so had she, but she rarely had to do more than keep Vespa in bed, and she slept off her sickness most of the time.

She had taken care of Jet a few times from illness or injury, but he was fairly good at taking care of himself.

Juno shook in her arms until he wore himself out enough to fall asleep.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Juno woke up, feeling sticky and alone.

There was a cup of water next to his bed, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he could breathe.

He groaned and got out of his bed, wrapping a sweater around himself and slowly making his way out of his room.

The lady walked into the living room to see the whole crew there, talking in hushed voices, and Vespa was the first one to see him.

“Steel, what’re you doing up?”

The rest of the crew pipped up, and Juno felt a blush rise on his cheeks.

“Mista Steel! You’re awake!!”

Rita bounced over to him and led him over to the couch in the room, where the rest of the crew slowly made their way over.

“What happened and why are y’all treating me like some damsel in distress or somethin’”

He felt exhaustion tugging at himself again as a blanket got settled around him, but was rudely drawn o of it by Vespa shoving a thermometer in his mouth.

It beeped, and Vespa looked slightly relieved.

“You still got a fever but it’s down, you should go back to bed.”

He really didn’t want to stand up, but he’d rather that then Vespa kill him.

“Now, dear, Juno has been stuck in his bed for a rather long while, he could use a little company Look beyond the broken bottles  
Past the rotting wooden stairs  
and time away from his room, besides his bedding could use a wash.”

Juno was hit with a pant of guilt realizing that someone must have been taking care of him, something he honestly didn’t feel he deserved.

“‘M sorry”

He felt the couch next to him shift and a hand on his shoulder leading him against someone’s chest.

“Everyone needs help sometimes, Juno, and as a family, we help each other.”

Buddy held him close, and he let himself rest, surrounded by his family.

**Author's Note:**

> follow my tumblr at haunted-by-catholic-guilt


End file.
